Apple could start showing ads in Apple TV – sources

Todd Teresi, Apple’s Vice President of Advertising Platforms, has reportedly held meetings with executives from media agencies to discuss the potential of showing advertisements on Apple’s premium streaming service Apple TV+, which could be a sign of an upcoming ad-supported tier, Digiday reported.

One of the executives of the companies that attended the meetings told Digiday the tech giant is planning to use a demand-side platform (DSP) for its TV inventory. In early August, Digiday also reported that Apple’s building its own demand side platform.

‘’They actually have so much native inventory, through maps, email, and all their apps at this point, that the DSP would actually be only to decision on their owned and operated [TV content],” the executive said.

In fact, Apple’s already showing ads during the livestreams of Major League Baseball, which it signed a 10-year partnership with. The iPhone-maker does not, however, sell those advertisements.

Another company executive who had a meeting with Teresi said that they talked about showing ads during sports programs, including Major League Soccer, but the company didn’t mention an ad-supported plan for Apple TV during the discussions. However, Teresi is planning to have another meeting with this company in November, and Apple could bring the ad-supported tier to the table then, the executive added.

Another source said that Apple didn’t ask them to put aside client dollars in Q4, so it could be more likely for Apple to start showing ads in early 2023.

In August, Teresi said that Apple wants to triple its $4 billion annual ad revenue and bring it to double digits. Launching an ad-supported tier could significantly increase the company’s Apple TV+ revenue. However, when compared to other streaming services including Netflix and Disney+, Apple TV has relatively fewer original content and subscribers.

Meanwhile, Netflix and Disney+ are also getting ready to launch their ad-supported plans to attract more users. Yesterday, Netflix said that it will launch ‘’Basic with Ads’’ plan for $6.99/month in November. Disney, on the other hand, will offer its ad-supported tier for $7.99/month starting in December.

In addition, Warner Bros. Discovery, which will merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single platform next year, also announced plans to offer a cheaper ad-supported tier.